To: Honorable Mayor and Members of City Council
From: Vincent Smith, Community Development Director
Prepared By: Jason Williams, Chief Building Official
TITLE:
Title
Building Inspection and Plan Review Services
LABEL
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommendation
Authorize the Community Development Director to negotiate and execute (1) an amendment to Agreement No. C2019-236 with Interwest Consulting Group, Inc. for building inspection and plan review services extending the term for an additional two years to June 30, 2022 with total compensation of up to $575,000; and (2) an amendment to Agreement No. C2019-222 with 4 Leaf, Inc. for building inspection and plan review services extending the term of the agreement for an additional two years to June 30, 2022 with total compensation of up to $575,000.
Body
DISCUSSION:
The City of Napa’s Building Division provides enforcement of building standards through building plans examination and inspections. Such services require technical expertise and regulatory compliance with the California Building Standards Code (California Code of Regulations, Title 24 Parts 2, 2.5, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 11 and 12) generally described as structural, fire/life safety, disabled access, green building, and energy conversation requirements. These services augment routine City operational needs to accommodate the variable demand of residential and commercial construction industry activities on an as needed basis.
The City executed separate professional service agreements with Interwest Consulting Group, Inc. and 4 Leaf, Inc. in September 2019. Each agreement has a monetary not to exceed amount of $100,000 and is scheduled to terminate on June 30, 2020. Given the reduced staff availability due to frozen vacant positions, the on-call availability of each of these firms affords the City the ability to maintain operational continuity and, as much as possible timely responsiveness to local citizens and construction contractors for plan review examination and building/field inspections. The benefit of having these service agreements in place is to augment the constrained City staff resources and reduce operational overhead costs as each agreement is utilized on an as needed basis; the agreements do not guarantee payment for the sum of each not to exceed monetary threshold.
The demand for professional building inspection and plan review services fluctuates based on construction demands which are influenced by market changes and seasonal conditions. Due to the inconsistent and unpredictable need for these services, the availability of the two firms (Interwest Consulting Group, Inc. and 4 Leaf, Inc.) will enable City staff to manage peak demand times. Additionally, such agreements minimize overhead costs to the City as the consultant services are utilized only as needed and the cost for services are fully recovered through the City’s fees associated with each service provided. Due to the variability in demand, City staff recommends amending each agreement by extending the term for an additional two years to June 30, 2022 with total compensation of up to $575,000 for Interwest Consulting Group and up to $575,000 for 4 Leaf, Inc.
FINANCIAL IMPACTS:
No additional funding is required beyond that already allocated and approved in the City budget.
CEQA:
The Community Development Director has determined that the Recommended Action described in this Agenda Report is not subject to CEQA, pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15060(c).
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
None.
NOTIFICATION:
None.